The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday defended his remarks on sharia law, but took responsibility for any "misleading choice of words" which had helped to cause distress or misunderstanding among the wider public.

After days of turbulence surrounding his views on the way the British legal system might accommodate Islamic law, Rowan Williams made his presidential address to the general synod, the Church of England's national assembly, in an atmosphere of some tension.

Having torn up his original speech to address the remarks first given in a BBC interview and then in a lengthy speech at the Royal Courts of Justice, he took responsibility for any "unclarity" which may have caused "distress or misunderstanding" among the public, especially his fellow Christians. But while he moved to neutralise the crisis which followed his assertion that adopting certain aspects of Islamic law seemed "unavoidable", he stopped short of the full apology some critics had demanded.

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He said he believed "quite strongly" it was not inappropriate for a pastor of the Church of England to address issues around the perceived concerns of other religious communities. And, clearly blaming media coverage for the outpouring of anger, he told his Westminster audience: "Some of what has been heard is a very long way from what was said in the Royal Courts of Justice last Thursday."

Synod members gave him a minute-long standing ovation as he took his seat. He appeared relaxed during the address, which was well received.

He was not proposing, he said, to introduce sharia as a "parallel jurisdiction" and insisted there could be no "blank cheques" regarding the status of women and their liberties. He did, however, repeat his assertion that certain provisions of sharia were already recognised by society and that this could be extended to other areas.

"The question remains whether certain additional choices could and should be made available under the law ... for resolving disputes and regulating transactions. It would be analogous to what is already possible in terms of the legal recognition of financial transactions under Islamic regulation ... it would create a helpful interaction between the courts and the practice of Muslim legal scholars."

He acknowledged that his attempt to provide a "coherent voice" on behalf of all faith communities was a privilege, "however clumsily it may have been deployed in this instance". He noted that many Muslim-majority countries distinguished between the rights of citizens overall and the duties accepted by some citizens of obedience to Islamic law. "It is this that encourages me to think that there may be ways of engaging with the world of Islamic law on something other than an all or nothing basis," he added.

His attempts to clarify his position came amid press reports that a member of the 482-strong synod was ready to table a motion urging members to distance themselves from the archbishop if an apology was not forthcoming.

Williams showed his mettle by tackling the talk of schism that has loomed over the Anglican communion since the ordination of Gene Robinson, the openly gay bishop of New Hampshire, in 2003.

Aware that dioceses and bishops are boycotting Lambeth, the 10-yearly gathering of the world's Anglican primates, he said he respected the consciences of people who could not attend because of the presence of Christians who had "acted against the disciplinary and communal consensus" of the communion.

The prime minister, who had been one of the first to criticise Williams's remarks, paid tribute to the "great integrity" and "dedication" of the archbishop. Gordon Brown's spokesman said: "The archbishop has been clarifying and setting in a wider context the comments he has made and I'm sure he will continue to do so in the future." But he went on: "The prime minister is very clear that British laws must be based on British values and that religious law, while respecting other cultures, should be subservient to British criminal and civil law."

What he said

On the fallout

"I must take responsibility for any unclarity in either that text or the radio interview and for any misleading choice of words that helped to cause distress or misunderstanding."

On being archbishop

"It is not inappropriate for a pastor of the Church of England to address issues around the perceived concerns of other religious communities and to try to bring them into better public focus."

On sharia law

"The question remains whether certain additional choices could and should be made available under the law of the UK ... it would create a helpful interaction between the courts and the practice of Muslim legal scholars."

On schism

"The decision of some to be absent ... reflects the legacy of hurt felt by some provinces at what is experienced as patronising or manipulative or insensitive actions and attitudes on the part of many churches."

On Zimbabwe

"We have had some in leadership positions who have been critically supportive of a violent and lawless administration ... the Anglican church has rallied remarkably to repudiate the excesses of the former Bishop of Harare."

On email

"Our current style of electronic global communication ... can have a toxic effect on all sorts of other areas of communicating with each other."

On Lambeth

"Whether or not we arrive at some unimaginable solution to our theological and structural challenges, I hope we shall have shown it is possible to speak and think with one another in the presence of God."